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Uniqueness
The sacred shrine enshrining the Sivalinga with the marks of club on
the top lies in Parli and it is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas
adored over centuries by people in their lacks. Surprisingly enough,
many places in India are claiming this honour; and strange to hear
they are also called Vaidyanath temples. And at each place, the
sthalagnas - local guides narrate elaborate accounts and corroborate
them with some evidence or the other. Among them, the temple at
Deogarh in the Santhal pargans in Bengal is one, another at
Gangakhed in Maharastra, one more at Kiragram in Punjab, and yet one
more at Dakhoi are a few others that are laying claims and
worshipping the Sivalingas of those places as one of the twelve
Jyotirlingas. And the story narrated about its origin too more or
less is
similar and concurs in the essential aspects, like the Sivalinga was
brought here by Ravana and given to him by Lord Siva Himself. The
deity is called Vaidya - surgeon, for the act of transplanting the
nine heads of Ravana severed by him to obtain boons. Each is a Saiva
kshetra redolent of Sivalilas. Festivals like Mahasivaratri are
celebrated with great éclat, when thousands of devotees congregate
and offer several kinds of pujas. The thrithas of the places are
connected with Ravana and their efficacy is still felt, when bathed,
and hence they are luring pilgrims round the year since the Treta
yuga.
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